The Power of Yin In Action

Rosa Alegria has a warm smile and lilting Brazilian accent. Christina Carvalho-Pinto has the sophisticated air of a TV personality and sees beauty in everything. Both are Hazel Henderson’s cherished friends and long-time colleagues who recently visited Hazel’s home in historic Saint Augustine. They came for five days – to relax on the beach, catch up on family news and WORK.

Rosa Alegria is Brazil’s foremost futurist. She is the co-chair of the Brazilian Node of the Millennium Project, Research Director of the Futures Group at the Sao Paulo Catholic University, and was integral in creating Mercado Etico, the Brazilian version of Ethical Markets. She is a consultant and facilitator of innovation and change process, responsible for the initiative and white paper called “Women Foresight Study” for the Millennium Project. She represents Latin America in the International Foresight Group based in Germany and also is the Latin American research associate of the Kairos Institute based in Sweden.

When asked what is her most memorable interaction with Hazel Henderson, Rosa Alegria, a woman of remarkable accomplishments, describes a day when Hazel, after a long conference session, was taken to Rosa’s office to rest. Rosa admits being thrilled to bring a glass of juice to someone who had so inspired her.

Christina Carvalho-Pinto, president and owner of the Full Jazz Communications Group, is president of Mercado Etico and one of Brazil’s foremost business leaders. She was the first woman to lead a multinational group in Latin America: the Group Young & Rubicam, which she headed for seven years. She was elected twice as the Professional Advertiser of the Year and received in 1991acknowledgment as Professional of the Decade by the Brazilian Association of Columnists and Advertising. She has been recognized twice by Forbes Magazine as The Most Influential Woman in the sector of Marketing and Communications in Brazil (2004 and 2007), and in 2005, she was elected “One of the most outstanding Brazilian entrepreneurs” by Entrepreneur Magazine.

When asked about her early interaction with Hazel, Christina Carlvalho-Pinto, accustomed to the spotlight, admits that Hazel helped her recognize that she has an abundance of friends also seeking higher consciousness. She’s not alone in her spiritual quest and her work for ethical marketing and advertising and, even more important, she is feeling greater appreciation for the value of the work.

Remarkable in her own right, Hazel mentored and nurtured these two women in their careers supporting sustainability. Meetings at conferences, phone calls, emails, visits – they all share two common aspects: an exchange of deep friendship and love and a “let’s get to work” attitude.

During their recent visit to Saint Augustine, they exchanged personal pictures and professional contacts. They shared family stories as well as updates on joint projects. They laughingly recalled past jaunts in the Brazilian country-side and recalled the obstacles they had implementing Mercado Etico.

This is how women can WORK – lovingly, efficiently and productively. By the end of the five days, they had outlined their tasks as part of a working group promoting a new environmental index for Brazil’s stock exchange. They had developed a contact list of prominent supporters and those they’ll have to recruit to make the venture a success. They determined what was needed in a manager for the index and drew a short-list of prospects. They held conference calls to introduce various players and they played – in the pool!

As an international effort with participants in both North and Latin America, this project will require intense oversight and significant follow-through. No doubt, these women are up to the challenge with energy and vivacity, skill and expertise — and always with the certainty that the effort is worth doing because they care so deeply for each other, for their families and for the future.

With the Power of Yin at work, they follow a different working model than the “norm” but no different than generations of women have used to nurture each other and care for their families. How fortunate to have this visible example of women helping women with amazing success.